Paul Greengrass (director of Bloody Sunday, United 93, etc.) is back for his second shot at the Bourne franchise. Greengrass is largely known for his cinema vérité shooting style that involves shaky documentary style hand-cams that help provide realism. By bringing this style that into The Bourne Ultimatum he keeps the action fresh and up-tempo, even if it makes it difficult to follow at times.
As usual, the fight and chase scenes are the best parts of the Bourne franchise. I haven’t seen this much adrenaline on the screen since the opening foot chase sequence in Casino Royale, except this movie keeps that pace up for most of it. While the action is exaggerated it makes for a top-notch thrill ride.
Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is a former government assassin who has a case of amnesia. He searches for answers to his past and to find the people who have made him into this killing machine. Ultimatum fills in many of the holes that Identity and Supremacy left open. The plot smoothly connects Bourne’s previous memories and the action sequences. You are never looking at your watch (or gasp, cell phone, turn them off!) during the 111 minutes.
Bourne Ultimatum capitalizes on the summer movie action genre and appeals to our sense of curiosity about what Uncle Sam is doing. In these times of lack of trust in our own government and belief that security and surveillance are become the hot buzz words that allow our elected and non-elected officials to make decisions beyond recourse, the Bourne story hits on a nerve of corruption and compassion for America. Any form of art is a mirror of the times, movies may be one of the best examples of this.
The acting, save Joan Allen, is pretty good for a film that doesn’t require much. The camera work and fast editing puts you right into the shoes of the Jason Bourne and keeps your heart racing.
A must-see for fans of the series. If you aren’t up to date, no fret, cable stations are running the first two, or else they are available at your local video store. You really should watch the first two before going into the third one or much of the storyline will go over your head.